1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to engines generally and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a novel engine which has a rotary block.
2. Background Art
A conventional engine has a block which is stationary with respect to the system in which it is installed, the block having defined therein one or more cylinders each containing a piston which reciprocates in the cylinder and supplies power to, typically, a crankshaft. The motive power for an engine may be provided by internal combustion, steam, or compressed gas, for example.
Such an engine usually has a relatively high size-to-power ratio and is relatively complicated in terms of the numbers of parts, the latter factor making such an engine relatively expensive and complicated to manufacture and repair. Another limitation of a conventional engine is that a piston can provide no more than one power stoke per revolution of the crankshaft.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an engine that is built of few parts.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such an engine that is easily and economically constructed and repaired.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide such an engine that has a relatively low size-to-power ratio.
It is another object of the invention to provide such an engine in which a piston can have more than one power stroke per revolution of an output shaft.
Other objects of the present invention, as well as particular features, elements, and advantages thereof, will be elucidated in, or be apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.